Tuesday, August 08, 2006

No one in the Burger King saw Tina slide her Whopper under the table and stuff it with the freshly killed rat she had been carrying in her purse. No one, that is, but Glenn.

He had watched the sad young woman from the moment she walked into the restaurant, and he knew exactly what she was planning: a bite of the rodent-filled sandwich, a hideous shriek, a hefty lawsuit. But he wasn't going to let that happen.

"You don't have to do this," Glenn whispered, sliding into a chair beside his shocked fianceé. "I know how I can pay for the wedding. I'll even be able to get you that engagement ring I promised."

"But how?" Tina cried, fighting to hold back the tears. "Love of my life, how can you possibly come up with all that money?"

Glenn smiled grimly as he lifted the bun of his fish sandwich, like he was opening the lid of a jewelry box. To Tina's surprise and delight, the fried cod fillet was studded with small pieces of broken glass, sparkling like diamonds in the flickering fluorescent light.